The
Donner Canadian Foundation was established in 1950 by
William H. Donner. In the mid-1960s, the Foundation began to
focus on specific program interests, among these, research
on public policy. The Donner family chose Canada's
centennial year, 1967, to embark on a course of professional grantmaking that has contributed well over $150 million to
almost 2,500 projects across Canada and around the world.

In
addition to ongoing funding of public policy research, the
Foundation supports environmental, international
development, and social service projects. Every year, the
Donner Book Prize honours the best book on Canadian
public policy, and the Foundation's lecture series features some of the world's most influential speakers. The
Foundation is guided by a Board of Governors composed of
representatives of the Donner family and prominent Canadians
from a variety of fields.